MotoGP | CzechGP | FP1: Nakagami tops first session of free practice ahead of Mir and P.Espargaro
As the MotoGP championship winds through the wooded hillsides of the Czech Republic, Nakagami topped the opening session of the #CzechGP, closely followed by Mir and P. Espargaro in 3rd.
First blood to the LCR Honda camp, with Nakagami topping the session with a 1:57.353. Mir closely followed in 2nd, setting a time of 1:57.364. P. Espargaro rounded out the top 3, with a time of 1:57.392.
The man spearheading Honda’s attack on the #CzechGP will be Nakagami, starting the weekend as he means to go on, the LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider topped the timesheets. Britain’s Crutchlow placed 10th, having set a time of 1:57.753, as he continues to recover from an injury sustained at the #JerezGP. Repsol Honda’s contender for Rookie of the Year, A. Marquez set a time of 1:58.579, placing 18th. Repsol Honda have fielded their test rider, Bradl, in place of the injured M. Marquez, he placed 22nd with a time of 1:59.193.
Top Suzuki for this morning’s opening session was Mir, who placed 2nd. Rins set a time of 1:57.823, placing him 12th.
KTM’s frontrunner P. Espargaro placed 3rd in this morning’s session, an extremely promising start to the weekend. Rookie of the Year contender Binder found himself in 16th, after he had his hot lap cancelled at the end of the session, his fastest session time was 1:58.013. Oliveria set a time of 1:58.161, placing him 17th. Another KTM Rookie of the Year contender Lecuona set a time of 1:59.136, placing him 21st.
Perhaps a surprise for the opening session was Esponsorama Racing’s Zarco placing 4th, with a time of 1:57.460. Factory Ducati Racing teammates Dovizioso and Petrucci finished this morning’s session in 6th (1:57.632) and 7th (1:57.638) respectively. Pramac Racing’s Miller placed 14th, with a time of 1:57.836. Bagnaia backed him teammate up, placing 15th with a time of 1:57.839. Esponsorama Racing’s Rabat placed 19th with a time of 1:58.728.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Viñales placed 5th in this morning’s session, with a time of 1:57.565, after a small off at the beginning of the session. Rossi set a time of 1:57.646, placing him 8th, after an impressive #AndalucianGP. Petronas Yamaha’s Morbidelli placed 9th, with a time of 1:57.718. Championship leader Quartararo found himself in 13th, with some improvements to be made this afternoon, setting a time of 1:57.831.
The fastest Aprilia for this morning’s session was A. Espargaro in 11th with a time of 1:57.789. Aprilia test rider Smith placed 20th with a time of 1:58.817.
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COMBINED TIMES |
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|
Position |
Rider |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
LCR Honda IDEMITSU |
1:57.353 |
|
2 |
Joan Mir |
Team SUZUKI ECSTAR |
1:57’364 |
|
3 |
Pol Espargaro |
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
1:57.392 |
|
4 |
Johann Zarco |
Esponsorama Racing |
1:57.460 |
|
5 |
Maverick Viñales |
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |
1:57.565 |
|
6 |
Andrea Dovizioso |
Ducati Team |
1:57.632 |
|
7 |
Danilo Petrucci |
Ducati Team |
1:57.638 |
|
8 |
Valentino Rossi |
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |
1:57.646 |
|
9 |
Franco Morbidelli |
Petronas Yamaha SRT |
1:57.718 |
|
10 |
Cal Crutchlow |
LCR Honda CASTROL |
1:57.753 |
|
11 |
Aleix Espargaro |
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini |
1:57.789 |
|
12 |
Alex Rins |
Team SUZUKI ECSTAR |
1:57.823 |
|
13 |
Fabio Quartararo |
Petronas Yamaha SRT |
1:57.831 |
|
14 |
Jack Miller |
Pramac Racing |
1:57.836 |
|
15 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
Pramac Racing |
1:57.839 |
|
16 |
Brad Binder |
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
1:57.867 |
|
17 |
Miguel Oliveira |
Red Bull KTM Tech 3 |
1:58.161 |
|
18 |
Alex Marquez |
Repsol Honda Team |
1:58.579 |
|
19 |
Tito Rabat |
Esponsorama Racing |
1:58.728 |
|
20 |
Bradley Smith |
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini |
1:58.817 |
|
21 |
Iker Lecuona |
Red Bull KTM Tech 3 |
1:59.136 |
|
22 |
Stefan Bradl |
Repsol Honda Team |
1:59.193 |
